


The Very Best Butter

by SteelBlaidd



Series: Go Ask Alix [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteelBlaidd/pseuds/SteelBlaidd
Summary: Mari is doing her best Dormouse impresion during Art club and Alix decides it's time to get to the bottom of things.The bottom of that Rabbit hole a lot further down than she expected.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alix Kubdel
Series: Go Ask Alix [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932442
Comments: 18
Kudos: 70
Collections: September 2020 - Fulfill A Prompt





	The Very Best Butter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [11JJ11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/11JJ11/gifts).



> This was a Prompt fic for the [ Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) September 2020 Pick a Prompt Challenge 
> 
> Marinette is reaching her breaking point. There are more akumas than ever, and no allies for her to call on. She has to balance being a Guardian, a student, and just trying to maintain her social life-- but she feels like it's going to come crashing down. Lila is just as much of a pain as ever, and with Master Fu gone she realizes she just needs someone else to lean on. There are so many people she wants to reveal her identity to, Chat being at the top of that list, but the nightmares of Chat Blanc still haunt her-- she can't put her Kitty through that again.
> 
> However, there is someone she does know who will know her identity in the future...
> 
> "Hey Alix? Is there any way we could talk after school? There's something important I want to tell you."

Alix was busy on a new canvas when Marinette came up to the art room, so she did not pay much attention to what her classmate was doing. After a few more swipes of green on her Chat Noir mural she turned to see that her friend had collapsed in a pile of bright blue fabric sound asleep. As much of a joke as it was to try and take selfies with her sleeping around the school,  _ #marinettechallange _ , Marinette had never fallen asleep in the midst of a sewing project before. Well not at school anyway. 

After taking a selfie with her head pillowed on the fabric pile next to Marinette's, Alix spun upright to sit cross-legged, chin on her fists, and stare at the other girl's face contemplating the bags under her eyes. 

After a couple minutes she started poking her gently snoring friend to see what would wake her up. Nose and ear pulls were ineffective. Even a wet willy only produced a momentary squirm. After holding Marinette’s nose shut only caused her mouth to fall open, Alix considered, then rejected, shutting that too. Adrien was already gone or she might have hauled him in to see if his voice would rouse the snoring seamstress. Though, given the way the model was dragging these days, it was more likely he would join his classmate in dream land. Which would make for some decent blackmail, but not really answer the question of what had run their previously perpetually peppy class rep into the ground.

Deciding that sleep was probably the most important project Marinette could be working on, she threw the bolt over the girl and shoved her against the wall as the rest of the art group dribbled in. Everyone was careful not to disturb the pile which meant they could honestly tell Lila that they hadn't seen her when she stopped by. Every one worked quietly on their various projects for their allotted hour before the art teacher shooed them out again. 

It was easy enough for Alix to duck back around behind him through the door and hide till he had gone. She probably had about 5 minutes to get Marinette up and moving before their teacher returned to grade homework.

She crouched by the softly respiring pile, and shook it vigorously. “Hey M it’s time to wake up.”

The cloth lifted up like a slowly rising moon before Marinette dragged it off of her head. 

“Alix, what are you here..?” She said muzzily. “I would ask the same question. You could have just gone home to sleep.” Marinette's eyes ratcheted wider and wider as she looked around the art room. 

Then buried her head in her hands. “Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I slept through Club. Why didn't anybody wake me up?” She wailed. “I've got to get home.”

As she scrambled to collect her things Alix rerolled the cloth and hefted it over her shoulder, then ambled after Marinette as she raced toward home.

Despite their differences in urgency it wasn't actually that hard to keep up. Alix got well ahead by surfing down the handrail of the stairs and was in position to grab the back of Marinette’s jacket so she didn’t face plant into the crosswalk when the light changed. 

Then just a quick wave to Tom and Sabine as they went round to the apartment entrance and up to Marinette’s loft, grabbing a couple pastries and drinks as they passed the kitchen.

As Marinette dumped all her things and collapsed into her desk chair, Alix sauntered over to sprawl across the chase munching a Pan au Chocolate. “Thanks for helping me bring that Alix,” Marinette said tiredly. 

“Hey what are friends for.” Alix replied jautily. “Besides,” she mumbled around her pastry “your dad's treats are the perfect fuel.” 

“Still, I feel bad that you had to go out of your way.” Marinete said ducking her head shyly. 

Alix sat up abruptly and peered at her friend fiercely. “Marinette, I am going to say this slowly. You are not the  _ only  _ person who gets to go out of their way to help their friends. Even when it’s for a really dumb and overly complicated plan.” Marinette’s blush depended and her head sunk lower between her shoulders. “I just don't want to be a bother.” 

Alex clapped a hand over her eyes and groaned as she flopped back onto the chaise, one foot dangling off the side to rest on the floor. 

“I swear,” she groaned. “If any one in this whole freaking city has the unadulterated right to quote, unquote ‘be a bother’,” Alix used both verbal  _ and  _ physical air quotes. “It’s you!” Honesty compelled her to add. “And probably Ladybug.”    
“What about Chat Noir?” Marinette sounded offended. 

“Chat will be a bother whether he deserves to be or not.” Alix shot back. “At least he knows how to ask for things, like help. Unlike some people,” Alix sat up once again.Now spill. You have been even more frazzled than usual for  _ weeks _ . Don't argue.” Marinette’s swell of protest deflated at the index finger Alix abruptly thrust in her face. “And you won't tell anybody what's going on. I've seen you give Alya the brush off at least four times. Nino had to talk her down from kidnaping and an intervention  _ twice _ . And Adrien is hovering like he's afraid you'll break if he gets more than arm's reach away. You're not sneaking around with him are you?” At this inventory, Marinette's expression scrambled from embarrassed, to amused, then pleased and finaly shocked.

Alix barreled on flattening any possible response like a freight train. “It all comes down to the  _ fact  _ that  _ you  _ need help. I don’t know with what, and I don’t know who can help you best, but stop trying to save the world all by yourself. And stop treating your friends like a last resort.” At this, Alix folded her arms and gave Marinette her best ‘stern adult’ expression, which held for a grand total of just under five seconds before a smirk forced itself onto her face and the two girls dissolved into giggles.

It was a good couple of minutes before they were able to compose themselves. And that was only successful because they deliberately stopped looking each other in the face. “Thanks Alix, I need that. I'm sorry I've worried everybody. I wish I could just tell somebody what's going on. But it's a secret and I can’t really tell anybody that doesn't already know.” Alix stood up from the pile of spent hysterics that she had made on the floor and walked over to give Marinette a hug. 

“I’m glad I could help. You've done so much for everybody. I just hope you can find someone you can trust with whatever it is before you run out of time.”

Alix then turned to go and was just opening the trapdoor out of the loft when she heard “Wait!” burst from Marinette’s lips. “Please wait.” Alix lowered the door and turned back around, eyebrows crinkling as Marinett hustled over to a chest in the corner. She pulled a heavy key from her purse that unlocked the chest to remove a half dozen wrapped packages and then stood with something clutched to her chest. As Marinette turned and walked toward her, Alix tried to puzzle what was hiding behind her clasped hands.

“Alix thank you, you're right I need help and you just reminded me that you can keep a secret.” With that Marinette extended her hands to display a very familiar silver shape. “Alix Kubdel, this is the Miraculous of the Rabbit which holds the power of Recollection. If you choose to accept it you will use it only for the greater good. If you misuse it, it will be taken from you.” Marinette took adept breath and then continued in a much less formal tone, a wry half-smile ghosting across her face. “But I don't expect that to happen, right Bunnyx?” 

Alix reached tentatively for the familiar looking item resting on Marinette's narrow palms. Drawing back hesitantly, once, before snatching it up to hold close to her face. 

Her head bobbed as she looked from the watch to Marinette's face and back. Then she whooped and danced in a circle Miraculous trust into the air. “Rock! Kim will be soooo jealous. But I can't tell Kim. SCREW IT! THIS IS TOO COOL FOR HIM ANYWAYS. I'm a freaking Superhero. Yessss." As her burst of enthusiasm wound down, she grinned maniacally at Marinette and the thumb sized white rabbit slowly revolving on three axes by her head mumbling distractedly, “Has the time come or are we coming to the time? Have we passed up tomorrow for yesterday?“ Alix reached out and rubbed the little bunny between the ears for a moment then her eyes doubled in size and her grin faded. Again she looked rapidly back and forth between the watch, now clutched tightly in her right hand, and Marinette's face. 

“Ho-ly shit! You’re Ladybug.” Said Alix, before she suddenly found herself seated on the floor clutching her hair with one hand and pointing with the other, the watch still grasped tightly in her palm. Another smale creature, this one scarlet with black spots and electric blue eyes appeared over Marinette's shoulder and gave her a friendly wave. 

Alix’s mouth fell open, but not even incoherent wheezing issued forth. This sent Marinette off in another paroxysm of giggles. Alix waited in a daze for Marinette to tire then sit up wiping tears from her eyes. “Thank you Alix, I haven't laughed like that in… way too long." 

“Yeah I can tell." For the first time she could remember Alix felt uncertain. "Ummm, why me? And why now?" 

Marinette shared a quick glance with the little red creature curled up in a ball chin resting on her knees. "Why, because I need someone I can talk to, who I can trust to keep a secret, and who Hawk Moth won't know to target. My kwami, Tikki,” She gestured at the red and black creature again, “is wonderful, but there are things she just can't help me with. As for why now? Back on Chloé's parent's anniversary all the rest of the Miraculous holders, except Chat, were revealed to Hawk Moth. But you he doesn't know about. And you haven't tried to ask Ladybug for your Miraculous, and there hasn't been a hint of talk about Bunnyx, so I know you can keep a secret.” 

Alix swelled with pride momentarily before another question intruded. "Why can't you talk to Chat? Doesn't he know who you are?" 

Alix flinched at the almost physical force of the panic that boiled off of Marinette. 

“No! I can't! It's too dangerous!”

Alix watched with wide eyes as Marinette visibly took hold of her emotion and with a few short deep breaths tore it into little pieces to drift away on the wind. "I'm sorry about that.” She said, a regretful pant in her voice, as if she had just run the 100 meter dash. “I did something selfish and Chat found out who I was and somehow that got him akumatized and then he destroyed Paris and the moon and -" Her voice inched higher with every word until she caught herself, and sucked in another deep breath through her nose, lips pressed tight against the flow of words. "It was bad enough you had to pull me out of time to fix things." She said after regaining her composure. "So he can't know who I am and," her voice hitched, a lone tear sneaking down her cheek. "I can't know who he is either." Another deliberate deep breath. ”Not until Hawk Moth is caught and his Miraculous is taken from him."

“So you want me to help kick his ass. I'm down. At his best Hawky is a bigger douche than Kim, even at maximum dumbass." Alix didn't remember the two times she had been akumatized, but she had seen it happen to too many of her friends. She hated the way Hawk Moth took people at their lowest and told them it was someone else fault and he could make it all better if you just did this  _ one little  _ thing. Just like beating Kim, fixing things took work, and you had to take responsibility for your part of the mess and clean it up. 

"Thanks Alix, I know we can count on you." Marinette said confidentiality then ducked her head in between her shoulders squinting at Alix with only one eye. "Can you promise to only come help when we call for you?" She asked hesitantly. 

"Hero of last resort, right. The super secret combo move stops being secret if you pull it out for any old thing. Besides you mostly need me to help cover this on the civilian side, right?” Marinette nodded a quick response. “Honestly I don't know how you haven't spilled this to the whole class by now."

Marinette flopped back like a starfish. “I wish I knew too.” Marinette stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I wasn’t planning on telling you who I was at first, but you’re right I -  _ we  _ need help. I’ll need to tell Chat so he can decide if he is going to tell you who he is too.” 

“Sweet! Alya’s going to kill me if she finds out though.” Alix put her hands behind her head and lay back on the floor ankles crossed, to watch the kwami chase each other around the room on a tour. Secret keeper was a new game and one she was going to  _ win _ .

After a few minutes of companionable silence Marinette spoke again in a small voice. “I'm sorry but I have to tell you, Kim got a miraculous first.” 

“Did he get to keep it?” Alix retorted immediately.

“No”

Alix grinned.

“Doesn't count then.” She said, holding the Kubdel family  _ magic pocket watch _ up in the air and paying with it in a sunbeam that slashed across Ladybug’s super secret hideout...

**Author's Note:**

> My great gratitude to my beta [ Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haphira%E2%80%9D>Haphira</a>%20and%20all%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20<i>Fabulous</i>%20people%20at%20the%20<a%20href=), who have encouraged me and kept me going. If you write or draw for this fandom, or just want to, come play with us.


End file.
